Houses: An EXO Sehun One-shot

For #Fanficfriday

When your friend was sitting by the roadside, the heat burning his pallid skin and his rainbow hair smothered with dust, he held your pet cat close to him and her fur gently. Your eyes twitched. The air smelled of smoke, but that wasn't what bothered you. You hated seeing him holding Dream and playing with her while she was your cat! "Stop it, Sehun. Don't make me remember why am I mad at you again." you glared at him.

Sehun drove Dream away from you, his stern face emphasising his refusal. "Remember my promise? Sooner or later she'll be yours again, trust me."

"Hmmph." You rolled your eyes. "You annoying brat."

"Ohorat?" Sehun held a hand out to you.

"Ohorat." You took his hand and stared at Dream longingly.

When you arrived home, your neighbour, Uncle Suho awaited you with a shining face. He placed his hand on Aunt Na-ra's shoulder and beamed. "You're going to get a new friend." he said.

Finally, after years of marriage, Uncle Suho and Aunt Na-ra had a child to call their own. You were the first one to be informed. "Yeobo, will our child be a he or a she?" said Aunt Na-ra rubbing her tummy.

"Must be a he," Uncle Suho said confidently. Summer winds blew his snow-white hair parted straight at the middle. "When he's born, we'll have a football field of our own!"

He paused when you questioned: "But all our football fields are go--"

"Miracles can happen, Cheon-sa." Aunt Na-ra reminded you. "She might as well be a girl."

"Yah!" Suho faked a surprised expression. "I thought we had agreed on this!"

"Calm down, ahjussi! One day we'll play with him in a real football field." Sehun piped in and outstretched his hand to you. "Ohorat?"

"Ohorat...?" You smirked at him and took his hand.

When Eun-ki was born, he didn't get a football field. Unknown strangers in uniform came and his house, Sehun's house and yours were lost. These strangers came with big machines you still couldn't understand and suddenly they drove their machines and hit out and hit out and hit out until everything lay crumpled in grey against the white dust of the ground.

The cold wind rolled over everything, cutting you through the bone and bringing a cloud to Sehun's face. He sneezed first before you did.

"Mom said that they don't want us to be here," Sehun said, kicking a rubble. His sharp, clear-cut features were made downcasted as he turned his face to you. "They want to build something new on our houses."

"Houses." You scoffed. "They want to build more houses."

"If they want to build their houses, why can't we have our houses, too?" Sehun bit his lip.

"Hmmm..." Suddenly, you felt compelled to ask him a question: "When we have houses, we'll be neighbours again, right?"

"Ohorat?" Sehun held out his hand with a piece of rubble in it.

"Ohorat." You kept that piece inside your pocket, even long after that day.

When you thought about Uncle Suho, you couldn't help but to remember the fact the he was never to be seen after his house perished. But one day, you and Sehun moved to a new place. The place was nice with more trees and less dust and less heat. While you were walking along the old streets, you saw a man, his hair now a paler shade of white (is that even possible?) and his face was tinged with red. He was beaming, but he looked different. You couldn't feel his smile.

"Sehun, Cheon-sa! You'd moved here too?" he said, waving. "Let's go to my house and have some snack."

Uncle Suho's new house was dimly lit, and it was too neat and silent. Only the three of you sat and ate.

Farther from you was a little baby shirt with two bullet holes lying on a chair.

After your meals had finished, Uncle Suho told the two of you to take good care of yourselves. "Ohorat?" he asked, glass in his eyes.

"Ohorat." You and Sehun nodded slowly. He held your hand tightly, not willing to let go.

When Sehun wished that the world would change and all these would end, it never did. Rumours of an underground resistance in your town had surfaced--no pun intended--and you were worried.

Anything could happen, anytime.

Soldiers with blurred faces and grey uniforms plagued your mind and you were afraid to lose everything you have now. You had finally become best friends with him and he was always eager to end everything once and for all.

As he grew up, he swore to himself to not let the people he loved suffer again. But you don't want to lose the people you loved. You admired his bravery, his polished fighting skills, but you were worried as well.

"Oh Sehun, don't try to leave me." you spoke up to him one day. "Ohorat?"

"Ohorat!" he said with pride.

When Sehun went to the beach for a stroll, he asked you to join him but you refused. You had just caught a cold and the cool breeze wouldn't help either. He convinced you that it would be nice to see the sunset together (in war one would have to forfeit such luxury), still you convinced him that next time you'll come along. He winced.

You said goodbye.

He walked away. He strolled by the shore. He ran through the waters to create a wave to rival the sea's. Alone. Under a brilliant sunset. You didn't know. You were at home. You slept under your blankets that evening, knowing that you were safe.

But he was not.

The following morning, your Dad sent you to an infirmary. He said that Sehun was there. Dad told that enemy soldiers were guarding the beaches, mistaking civilians as partisans. No, they couldn't see the thin line. Now, you could see the lines of care across Sehun's pale face.

What did the soldiers do? Shoot anonymous, anonymous.

"You owe me a stroll." A faint voice was wheezed out of Sehun's throat.

"Get well soon." You patted his limp hand. "We'll have a stroll when we're free again. I'll bring Dream with me."

His eyes couldn't focus anymore. Still they tried to meet yours. "Ohorat?" he croaked.

"Ohorat," you smiled.

Your smile became his last sight.

When you looked back at those memories, everything felt bitter. But, you won't let the past stop you. You held the books you were reading firmly in your hands. Education is your only ticket to freedom.

You wanted to be an engineer. It began as a childhood fantasy when you kept a piece of rubble in your pocket.

You'll study hard then study abroad then return to make more houses for your people. In a better future, you thought, everyone will have a place they can call home in peace.

Ohorat?

Ohorat.

A teardrop fell upon a page of your textbook.

When you were sitting by the roadside, the heat burning you, your breath smothered with dust, you held your pet kitten close to you and her fur gently. You asked her will things be alright again, or when will Mom come back. Yesterday there was a loud noise and suddenly Mom was silent. And Dad's plain cookies were inedible.

You were too lost inyour head, you didn't realise that your kitten had stopped purring. Then, she stopped silent. No more sounds were made. Beneath your hand was nothing more than empty air. Dream was gone. A high-pitched chuckle soon followed. She flung her head to its direction and saw a boy with sharp, clear-cut features and a mop of rainbow hair on his head. He was whirling Dream around to your horror.

"Yah! What are you doing! Stop hurting Dream!" you yelled at the rainbow-haired boy.

"Dream? Strange name for a cat."

"She looks like the kitten from my dream! I can't think of a better name!"

"Of course you can't." he scoffed. "You're too dumb to think of a better name." He hid Dream behind his back and maintained an expressionless look on his face. He was showing no mercy notwithstanding how loud did she yell.

You paced closer to the boy, but he scooted away faster than you. He was physically better. Frantic, you searched for a pretty little stone to throw at his pretty annoying poker-face.

"Fine, whiner. I'll let you have him when the soldiers leave." he Dream's fur gently this time with a ghost of a smile across his lips.

"You jerk!" you wailed. "Then I'll never get Dream back!"

"Don't worry, Oh Sehun will always help you with that... Ohorat?" Sehun stuck out his tongue and ran away, leaving poor you to chase him.

What on Earth does 'ohorat' mean?